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This page deals with the later cars that originated from the original Cooper record breaker. They are listed in the order in which they were originally built as record breakers and details of their later history are given when known. This is meant to be a work-in-progress page, so contributions will be most appreciated.
As already mentioned, the Coopers built a second streamliner in 1953 for Eric Brandon, based on a new chassis: the body was very similar to the original car and was still made of aluminium, but was lighter and somewhat simplified. It was successfully run at Montlhéry (apparently unpainted) in October 1953 when it set a total of 15 records: 7 in class J (all the same as in 1951, plus the 200 Miles), again the same 7 records in Class I, plus the 200 km in class H. After an early unsuccessful attempt to the H Class record, Eric Blandon had to leave for other engagements, so all the records were again set by John Cooper himself. (Photo at left from "Cooper Cars" by Doug Nye; photo at right from Autosport magazine).
The car was then sold to Pete Lovely of Santa Barbara, CA, who installed a Porsche engine and raced it successfully as a sports car. It was known as a Pooper, a name that also applied to other Porsche-powered sports cars with Cooper chassis. Although it was later modified, in its earlier sports racing career Lovely's car still looked pretty close to its original looks (photo at left from www.tamsoldracecarsite.net, shows the car at Pebble Beach in April 1956. Go to that site to see it larger. Photo at right from unrecorded web source: if you recognise it, just let me know and I will acknowledge it).| date | venue | class | distance/time | driver | speed mph | speed km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 200 miles | John Cooper | 103.62 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 50 km | John Cooper | 105.71 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 50 miles | John Cooper | 104.93 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 100 km | John Cooper | 105.10 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 100 miles | John Cooper | 104.39 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 200 km | John Cooper | 103.87 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 200 miles | John Cooper | 103.46 | |
| 6 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | 1 hour | John Cooper | 104.32 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class H (250/350 cc) | 200 km | John Cooper | 114.08 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 50 km | John Cooper | 111.14 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 50 miles | John Cooper | 111.22 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 100 km | John Cooper | 111.40 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 100 miles | John Cooper | 112.35 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 200 km | John Cooper | 112.89 | |
| 8 October 1953 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class I (350/500 cc) | 1 hour | John Cooper | 112.61 |
This car was built in 1956 by Fred Sawrey using a fiberglass body made from the moulds, or the aluminium panels (sources disagree) of the 1953 (Brandon) streamliner mounted on Sawrey's own Mark VI chassis powered by a blown JAP 1.100 cc. It set standing start records for the Kilo and the mile at the Bedford Airfield in September 1956. Car still exists, albeit minus the original engine, and is on permanent display (or anyway, was till I last checked) at the Myreton Motor Museum in Scotland. (Photo from "Castrol Achievements")| date | venue | class | distance/time | driver | speed mph | speed km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September 1956 | Bedford airfield, UK | FIA Class G (750/1100 cc) | standing km | Fred Sawrey | 87.64 | 141,1 |
| 22 September 1956 | Bedford airfield, UK | FIA Class G (750/1100 cc) | standing mile | Fred Sawrey | 93.88 | 151,1 |
This, the fourth and last of the F3-based Cooper streamliners, was built by Arthur Owen and Bill Knight for one of their annual record breaking campaigns with various Cooper cars. It was again based on the 1953 (Brandon) car, this time using an old Mk IV chassis, but the design of the fiberglass body was considerably modified, including a closed cockpit. It was powered by a 250cc Norton and set 5 International records in Class K at Monza in 1957, driven by Bill Knight. (Photo from "Cooper Cars" by Doug Nye)
In October 1958 Bill Knight drove again the streamliner for the last time, at Thurleigh (an airfield?), to set a standing start mile record in Class J (350 cc) at 76.6 mph, again with a Norton. The photo you see on the right, the only one I found (from Classic & Sportscar magazine) shows that the roof had been removed and some other changes might have been carried to the tail section of the body. Any additional photos would be most welcome.
The car was later sold in Canada, were it was adapted to road racing by installing a Porsche engine and raced without much success. The Porsche was then replaced by a Coventry-Climax 1.100, and the car was acquired by Michael Gee, who further shortened the body and raced it successfully in the mid-sixties (photo courtesy Mike Gee). History of the car after 1968 is still unknown.| date | venue | class | distance/time | driver | speed mph | speed km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 October 1957 | Monza circuit, I | FIA Class K (up to 250 cc) | 50 km | William Knight | 96.326 | 155,012 |
| 7 October 1957 | Monza circuit, I | FIA Class K (up to 250 cc) | 50 miles | William Knight | 97.602 | 157,059 |
| 7 October 1957 | Monza circuit, I | FIA Class K (up to 250 cc) | 100 km | William Knight | 997.786 | 157,370 |
| 7 October 1957 | Monza circuit, I | FIA Class K (up to 250 cc) | 1 hour | William Knight | 97.260 | 156,523 |
| 7 October 1957 | Monza circuit, I | FIA Class K (up to 250 cc) | 100 miles | William Knight | 97.184 | 156,406 |
| 19 June 1958 | Montlhéry circuit, F | FIA Class J (250/350 cc) | standing mile | William Knight | 76.6 | 123,3 |
| 25 October 1958 | Thurleigh, UK | FIA Class K (up to 250 cc) | 500 miles | Owen, Knight | 79.10 | 127,30 |
Bill Burke used a fiberglass replica of the Cooper streamliner body (using a mould he had taken off John Fox's Cooper back in 1954) for his second Bonneville streamliner in 1959. The car had otherwise nothing in common with the original Cooper, but was again powered by a Clausen-engineered Harley-Davidson of 90 cubic inches, like the one tried on Fox's Cooper. It did a pass at 151.38 early in the week, well over the Class F record it was running against, but was then plagued with engine troubles all the week long. It never reappeared at Bonneville and its later history is not known. (Photo from Hot Rod magazine)
Another fiberglass replica was built recently in the US on an original Mark IV (T11) chassis. The replica was apparently authorised by John Cooper and it is said that the original plans were used, although several differencies are clearly visible in the photos. (Photo and info from race-cars.com: go there for more)
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